Trump May Privatize Indian Reservations

It has been reported that Donald Trump advisers have proposed to privatize oil-rich Native American reservations – a particularly polarizing idea in the wake of the protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline. Reuters is reporting that such reservations likely contain about 20 percent of the nation’s oil and gas, as well as large coal reserves.

REP. MULLIN

Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who is the co-chair of Trump’s Native American Affairs Coalition and a Cherokee tribe member, said: “We take tribal land away from public treatment. As long as we can do it without unintended consequences, I think we will have broad support around Indian country.”

OTHER SIDE

There are others who see this proposal as essentially challenging. “Our spiritual lenders are opposed to the privatization of our lands, which means the commoditization of the nature, water, air we hold sacred,” said Tom Goldtooth, who runs the Indigenous Environmental Network and is a member of both the Dakota and Navajo tribes.

PRIVATIZATION

“Privatization has been goal since colonization – to strip Native Nations of their sovereignty,” Goldtooth added. But Trump’s advisers, including ex-chief of the Cherokee nation Ross Swimmer, said it’s possible to privatize the reservations while applying limits to any sales outside the Indian community. “It has to be done with an eye toward protecting sovereignty,” he said. According to Reuters, Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment on the idea